This new building in Dubai has been designed to look like an iPod

No strangers to the tremendous and magnificent, Dubai is famous for its decadent hotels and record-breaking buildings. And now, the city is continuing to push the boundaries when it comes to amazing architecture, with a 26-storey skyscraper that has been designed to look like an iPod.

A rendering of The Pad upon completion. Image by James Law Cybertecture

Suitably called The Pad, the residential building is located in Business Bay in central Dubai. Inspired by Apple’s iPods and iPads, the building was designed by Hong Kong-based architecture firm James Law Cybertecture, which beat out stiff competition with its intriguing and unique proposal. Due to open at the end of the year, the building also includes a number of futuristic technological features that will allow the inhabitants to programme their own software, such as mood lighting, voice control, biometric locks and mirrors that can monitor health.

The building will contain smart technology to make the lives of inhabitants easier. Image by James Law Cybertecture

Construction began in 2007, but was suspended in 2009, only to be restarted in 2013 again. Upon completion, The Pad will house 256 apartments, ranging from studios, to one and three bedroom duplexes overlooking the Dubai canal. The structure of the building is inclined at 6.5 degrees, as the leaning tower references the original iPod device on a charging dock, and is the first example of a building that utilises the wide range of technology inside it.

“Traditionally, architecture is a piece of concrete structure that contains conventional spaces to live or work. The Pad was conceived as the start of a new generation of architecture that is more akin to smartphones, where the buildings are programmable with software to match the needs of individual inhabitants. The concept came from designing the building to mimic a giant iPod,” architect James Law told Lonely Planet Travel News.

Last February say Dubai breaking its own world record by completing the tallest hotel in the world, with the Gevora Hotel on the Sheikh Zayed Road standing 365 metres tall.

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